Diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic disorders worldwide with significant personal and financial costs for patients and their families, as well as for society. Different types of diabetes exist with distinct etiologies and pathogeneses. For example, diabetes mellitus is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism, characterized by hyperglycemia and glycosuria and resulting from inadequate production or utilization of insulin.
Diabetes mellitus often develops from certain at risk populations, one such population is individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Impaired glucose tolerance is a condition intermediate between frank, noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and normal glucose tolerance in which the affected person's postprandial glucose response is abnormal as assessed by 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose levels. This IGT population progresses to a certain form of diabetes mellitus, specifically noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).
NIDDM or otherwise referred to as Type II diabetes is the form of diabetes mellitus which occurs predominantly in adults in whom adequate production of insulin is available for use, yet a defect exists in insulin-mediated utilization and metabolism of glucose in peripheral tissues. It has been shown that for some people with diabetes a genetic predisposition results in a mutation in the gene(s) coding for insulin and/or the insulin receptor and/or insulin-mediated signal transduction factor(s), thereby resulting in ineffective insulin and/or insulin-mediated effects thus impairing the utilization or metabolism of glucose. The population with impaired glucose tolerance progresses to NIDDM at a rate of 5% to 10% of cases per year.
Failure to treat NIDDM can result in mortality due to cardiovascular disease and in other diabetic complications including retinopathy, nephropathy, and peripheral neuropathy. For many years treatment of NIDDM has involved a program aimed at lowering blood sugar with a combination of diet and exercise. Alternatively, treatment of NIDDM involved oral hypoglycemic agents, such as sulfonylureas alone or in combination with insulin injections. Recently, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, such as acarbose, have been shown to be effective in reducing the postprandial rise in blood glucose (Lefevre, et al., Drugs 1992;44: 29-38). In Europe and Canada another treatment used primarily in obese diabetics is metformin, a biguanide.
In any event, what is required is a method of treating populations experiencing impaired glucose tolerance in order to prevent or delay the onset of NIDDM thereby bringing relief of symptoms, improving the quality of life, preventing acute and long-term complications, reducing mortality and treating accompanying disorders of those at risk for NIDDM. The methods of using the disclosed compounds for treating populations experiencing impaired glucose tolerance to prevent or delay the onset of NIDDM as taught herein meet these objectives.
Compounds useful for practicing the present invention, and methods of making these compounds are known. Some of these compounds are disclosed in WO 91/07107; WO 92/02520; WO 94/01433; WO 89/08651; JP Kokai 69383/92; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,287,200; 4,340,605; 4,438,141; 4,444,779; 4,461,902; 4,572,912; 4,687,777; 4,703,052; 4,725,610; 4,873,255; 4,897,393; 4,897,405; 4,918,091; 4,948,900; 5,002,953; 5,061,717; 5,120,754; 5,132,317; 5,194,443; 5,223,522; 5,232,925; and 5,260,445. The active compounds disclosed in these publications are useful as therapeutic agents for the treatment of diabetes, hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, and hyperlipidemia. The disclosure of these publications are incorporated herein by reference in particular with respect to the active compounds disclosed therein, and methods of preparation thereof. These compounds are useful for the treatment of impaired glucose tolerance (IGI) in order to prevent or delay onset of NIDDM and complications resulting therefrom, in accordance with the present invention.
There is no disclosure in the above-identified references to use the compounds identified in this present application in the treatment of populations experiencing impaired glucose tolerance in order to prevent or delay the onset of NIDDM and complications resulting therefrom.